Unfortunately its not as cut and dry here. DH submitted EVERYTHING he should have and hasn't hid anything. Main reason? Because there is nothing to hide but BM is adamant he's squirreling away money and has accused me of sheltering funds for him. She has stated the house I owned prior to marrying/moving in with DH was also his house and therefore she has some entitlement to the funds. It's bogus, but the infuriating thing is her lawyer actually passes this drivel on and drags DH through the mud, along with me for the ride.

As for things being based on facts, that's true...to a point. Unfortunately it still boils down to the JUDGE and what THEY think is fair and BM is *classic* at putting the water works on, claiming how horrible DH was to her when they were together and how she's had to fight tooth and nail for every scrap she got to raise their daughter. She has no morals or scruples really when it comes to money.

Because DH has his own company now, BM wants the retained COMPANY funds to be considered for calculating CS and they weigh in her favour. Even though its company money and we never use it, it's ONLY company money, the law still says it gets factored in for CS purposes. She gets a pretty nice income from DH from CS alone and always wants more and acts like its owed to her for putting her through "so much". We *know* her claims are bullshit, but I'm worried all this mud slinging will look bad on DH in front of a judge and they won't bother to look at only the facts, they'll treat it as a "we'll make an example of you for all dads out there" and favour in with BM. It's what she's used to. Getting her way and bullying her way for it and surprisingly it works more often than not.

I suggested to DH that while his lawyer may not want to sling mud back, at the VERY least she should be putting something in the paperwork along the lines of "show proof of these accusations or shut up because they are false" lol sheesh

what DC (dumpster c*nt) is currently going on, is that at one time (5 yrs ago) DH made 3 figures BUT it included benefits and OT and was NOT his salary. Then because of red-tape bullsh*t with the company DH worked for, he decided to go on his own and be his own boss. Of course he pays himself a decent wage, he doesn't underpay in order to skip obligations, its a decent wage, but its not 3 figures anymore because there's NO benefits and NO OT anymore. DC knows this but insists that because he made 3 figures at ONE point, he's capable of doing it again and that the only reason he doesn't make it now is because he's dogging obligations. We even had the company accountant write up a letter explaining it in dumb-terms for DC and her lawyer yet they continue to "maintain the position" that DH was at one time capable of earning this kind of money and therefore it should be taken into consideration when calculating CS since it's "possible he can make this money again". Never mind that he doesn't make this money now!!! ARG the stupidity is ridiculous! So basically what we learned was that DH was better off keeping the job he has, but taking NO overtime at all and paying based on that. Because it doesn't matter that DC has a high paying gov't job and also brings in an income through farming (which she denies but has referenced her farming efforts in numerous emails) but DH isn't allowed to try to grow a company because any money the company makes will be factored in when calculating CS even though its NO WHERE near what he brings home and we wouldn't be able to afford the payments never mind support the kids here at home.

No, there are guidelines used here too. BUT because DH went on his own 5 yrs ago, DC wants CS based on what he "potentially could" make and not what he actually makes. Almost like she's asking for a "pain and suffering" payment on top of CS every month. The stupid thing that they aren't even taking into consideration is that DH didn't go on his own to affect child support, he did this 5 yrs ago and only last year did DC file for more money

Ours is $350 an hour LOL Plus every email is like $50 every phone call under a minute is another 25-50 I want to puke. DH's lawyer acted all confident and told us "I'm not afraid to go to court" when he first put her on retainer. And now that DH is fed up and wants to go to court she's telling him "You'll end up spending upwards 5000-7500 in fees to go to court" well.... if we have to pay those fees, DC should have to also. BUT that's where its screwed up. The judge could actually pin all fees on US if they sympathize with DC. She wants a forensic audit done ont he company because she thinks we're sheltering funds and being sneaky. DH said to have at 'er but it would be at DC's cost not ours and his lawyer said the judge might rule that they split the cost OR put the whole cost on DH if the judge agrees he could be hiding money/being dishonest. Every day through this process, I lose faith in the system working for anyone other than the greedy.

I think that's where it's finally headed. I just hope they don't deviate far, if at all, from what it should be. I have so little faith in the justice system on so many levels...